PROLOGUE
This little town had managed to survive and pick themself up and that made them the perfect choice. With the present state of the human race, no one would notice anything missing about this town and when they do, it would have been too late. Humans brought this one themselves with the wars and trying to prove their supremacy to each other.
If only they knew that there were other more important things in the world to worry about than which human was stronger. He laughed from the alleyway where he stood before stepping into the street. The human race has truly fallen but they had it coming a long time ago and he was going to see an end to that. They were just pawns in a war they have no idea was going on or maybe they did but chose to ignore. That was not his concern though, he is going to get what he wants and put an end to all this.
CHAPTER ONE
John Roberts sighed as he waited for his car to cool down.
With the war of 2184, the entire human race had doomed themselves and probably the Earth along with them. A little incident had sparked a war and within three months, the countries had all fallen killing almost seventy-five percent of the entire human race. It had taken another forty years for things to get stable at least, that was what the new government were trying to tell the people of this country.
He does not believe in all that rubbish about making this country great again since they were suffering in many ways those that promise to make it great has no idea about. His job as a bounty hunter made that pretty clear and that is what he is up to going to hunt for ‘Joe the Killer.’ His first reaction at the name was a chuckle as killers don’t have their specialty attached to their names. The man had killed a sheriff over in one of the towns and there was a bounty of $300 on him something high but the killing of a officer of the law means a death penalty and with the decline of the human race, order was something that had to be kept even if it came at a high cost.
Three hundred dollars was more than enough to handle Sophie and Cassandra’s needs for half of the year while he was away hunting. The memory of his daughter’s face made John smile and he hoped that things could be different but there was no way he and Sophie would be getting back together. They had loved each other and they drifted with time and she left him for the man he called his best friend. It had pained John to his core but he decided that he couldn’t have made her happy anyway so she needs to get happiness even though his best friend wasn’t the best source for that happiness.
“Excuse me are you going down the highway?” Two teenagers asked him.
Looking up, John realized that they couldn’t be anything more than sixteen or seventeen and they were probably on the run. Whatever it was they were mixed in, he does not want a part of it. They both had blond hairs and they looked like they’ve been on the walk or run for long. The girl was a few inches shorter than the boy and if not for the fact that they looked identical he would have thought they were dating.
“Yes I am going down the highway but I’m not helping you with a lift.”
The two teenagers lost their smile and the boy looked at the girl not sure exactly what to say.
“We are going to Forlon’s hope to see our Uncle,” the girl said.
“And who is your uncle in Forlon’s hope?” John asked. “They call him Big Ted,” the girl replied.
Big Ted was popular in Forlon’s hope as he was the one who ran the little store that sustained everyone that stayed in Forlon’s hope. If these two were his family, then John won’t be able to forgive himself for not offering them a ride since he was going there to see Sophie and Cassandra.
“I’m John Roberts and I know your Uncle Big Ted,” John said. “He is your Uncle right?”
Both of them nodded and John was not exactly sure if they were telling the truth but he does not want to risk offending Big Ted so he is going to carry them anyway. “My name is Carrie and this is my brother Alex,” the girl said.
“Nice to meet you Carrie and Alex. Get in the car and let’s get going.”
The car was already cool enough and John was not eager to wait any longer thinking he would like to get to Forlon’s Hope, find somewhere to rest for the night before he continues on his hunt for his bounty.
???????
The first thing that got John’s attention was the thick fog that seemed to cover the entire town. Forlon’s hope was not that big of a town with a population of about eight to nine hundred people. The fog was nothing usual and it had John a bit worried.
“Is that normal?” Carrie asked him.
“Not the last time I checked,” John replied. He stopped his car getting down to look at the fog.
The fog was thicker than he thought and he wouldn’t like to approach the fog suddenly like that but he needs to get into Forlon’s hope and he has a distinct feeling deep within him that there is something about this fog that isn’t normal.
“I plan to go to the town will you like to wait here or go with me?”
The two teenagers looked at each other as they considered his questions and they agreed to follow him inside. It seemed as if they were twins or so but the girl was the one who made the decision. The boy seemed a bit scared or shy something that John thinks Forlon’s Hope will beat out of him. Maybe before things got bad like they are now, the boy would have been able to survive but present times require one to be tough. Those who are not tough loses themselves almost quickly. He got back into his car and started towards the fog using his memory of the road to drive into Forlon’s Hope. He had traveled down this road several times for him to know it quite well so unless there was an accident or something the road should pretty much be the same.
The fog was thicker than he had expected it should be or any normal fog for that and this fog was having him a bit worried. He was not the only one as the two teenagers in his back seat also looks a bit bothered. It was as if the fog had suddenly developed an affinity for Forlon’s hope. John continued driving through the fog until he saw the abandoned truck which indicated that he should be hitting the old warehouse but that was not on his mind. Forlon’s hope is never a silent place not even when it was late in the night but there was this foreboding silence that simply screamed that something was wrong.
“I don’t feel comfortable Carrie,” Alex said holding his sister.
“You’re not the only one who feels so kid but I’m sure that everything will be alright,” John replied.
He, was not feeling comfortable about this whole thing but he wasn’t going to admit that to the kids. He has been in several situations that were crazy or scary but this was on another whole level. It was like one of the stories his grandfather used to tell him about demons and Satan, stuffs that he had come to believe as an old man’s rumbling.
“We’ve gotten to the Main street,” John announced.
The main street in Forlon’s Hope was never silent or quiet as there was always one shop or person around but for the first time, it was like a ghost town. Everything was screaming to John that something is wrong.
“Where are the people who live in this town?” Carrie asked.
“That is one question I would like an answer to myself.”
Knowing that standing in Main street was useless, John told Carrie and Alex that he would like to drop by his ex- wife place trying to get some explanation about the whole thing.
“Your uncle’s house is a bit far away.”
“We are grateful for you to help John,” Carrie replied. “We will go with you to your wife’s house.”
It was obvious that they don’t want to be left alone and John had no intention of leaving them alone. The fog was not in the town but he had this feeling that something had touched this town making it different or not the Forlon’s Hope he knew. He hoped that Cassandra and Sophie were okay as he drove to their place. Since their breakup, Sophie had married Tad, John’s best friend and they lived in Tad’s house. Most times when John dropped by, he visits them staying outside for Sophie to join him. He might not be angry at both Sophie and Tad that does not mean he could stand either of them. As he pulled up into their street, he knew that something was wrong. He walked up to the house noticing that Chip, Tad’s dog was not around.
Carrie and Alex were following him closely, looking around as if they expected something to jump at them. “This entire town is making me feel scared,” Carrie mentioned.
“This is not a normal day in Forlon’s Hope,” John replied as he picked the lock.
Carrie and Alex looked at him in surprise as he opened the door and got in. John walked into the hallway calling out to Tad and Sophie. There was no reply and it was as if the house was empty. Where could they all have gone? “Seems like they left in a hurry,” Alex said pointing at the food left on the dining table.
John who was already at the stairs, heading to the bedrooms paused and came to the dining room. Just like Alex had said, there was still food left on the table as if they had left in the middle of dinner. That had alarm bells blowing in John’s mind as he knew that was not normal. Sophie would never let her dining table remained unclear, not willingly anyway.
“Something is entirely wrong with Forlon’s Hope,” John said.
“What do you mean wrong?” Carrie asked.
They heard footsteps at the door and the three of them froze. John placed his hand on his pistol as he approached the door. A young lady stumbled in looking distraught and afraid. She screamed when she saw the three of them leading to Carrie and Alex screaming also but John simply stared at her.
“Who are you and where is everybody?” John asked. “Are you citizens of Forlon’s Hope?”
“Not exactly but that’s none of your business,” John replied.
“It is whoever you are,” She replied. “I have been wandering around the town since I got here around midnight and I can’t find anybody.”
“What do you mean by you can’t find anybody?” Alex said. They all waited for her to respond and she paused as if she was not sure of herself then looked them all in the eye and said.
“It’s like everyone in the entire town vanished right over the night.”
John looked at her as if she was mad but there was no denying that fact, it was like as if everyone suddenly packed up and left but the question is this, Where did they go?
CHAPTER TWO
Two days and everyone had combed trying to understand what exactly happened and no one could give a reasonable explanation as to what truly happened. The center of the town had a large hole in it and there were speculations as to whether an earthquake or something else was responsible for it. John had given up on his bounty not wanting to leave Forlon’s Hope until his daughter and Sophie were found.
“I just can’t understand how a town over close to four hundred people suddenly vanish,” Peter from Gentry’s drive, thirty miles east of Forlon’s Hope said.
“There are no traces of them?” John asked.
Peter shook his head and John felt a deep emptiness in him wondering if he would ever see Cassandra again. She is the light of his life and the very thought that she might be out there somewhere made John more eager to solve whatever their mysterious disappearance was.
“Any explanations then?” John asked.
“Several actually,” Peter replied. “Some are saying maybe they found something from the old Era others is that maybe someone is playing with one of the weapons from the Old Era.”
The Old Era is the time before WWIII but John had trouble believing that. How could a weapon whether it was from the Old Era or out of space make a whole town vanish and then leave the center of the town with a hole in it? He knew that Old Joe avoids social gathering and why will he be missing? Several characters in Forlon’s Hope avoided social circles and John knew that if this was a weapon of the Old Era’s actions then there should be someone left behind. There is something about this whole thing that doesn’t make sense.
“So when are you heading out?” Peter asked. “Not until I find Cassandra,” John replied.
He walked away from Peter and towards the center of the town where a few people were hanging around. No doubt, the sudden disappearance of Forlon’s Hope resident must have spread by now but it wasn’t answering the question of where they went. People just don’t vanish like that and John wasn’t going to rest until he knows exactly what happened to them. He looked around trying to see if he can find anything when he spotted a stranger symbol close to the edge of the hole. He bent down on one knee and examined it closely.
“Noticed anything peculiar their fella?” A man asked him. John looked up to see a man wearing a Stenson standing before him. He had never seen the man before and John was not in the mood to talk.
“What does this look to you?” John asked pointing to the symbol he found.
The man examined it paying close attention before he shrugged and told him he has no idea what it is.
“Why do you ask?” He asked John. “Is the symbol familiar to you?”
“Kind of but I can’t remember where I saw it.”
“I understand the feeling. The name’s Troy McGriffin.”
“John Roberts,” John replied.
“The famous John Roberts, the bounty hunter?”
A nod was John’s reply and Troy asked him if a bounty had brought him here to which John told him that he had family in Forlon’s Hope.
“I’m sorry for your loss then,” Trop replied.
“They are not dead yet just missing,” John replied his tone raised.
“Calm down big guy,” Troy replied calmly. “Evidence suggests that they might have perished in either an earthquake or one of the Old Era’s weapons mishap.”
For the first time, John’s frustration swelled to the surface as he was tired of everyone telling him that it was either an earthquake or a weapon from the Old Era. None of them knows Forlon’s Hope as he does because if they did then they will understand that it was close to impossible what they were suggesting.
“You know what,” John said. “I don’t want to hear any of this anymore.”
He walked away from a stunned Troy and towards his car when he suddenly remembered where he had seen the symbol before. His grandfather had been an unusual character who kept odd books from the Old Era. A lot of people kept books from the Old Era but not like James his grandfather. The man had kept several books on mythologies from several societies and John had often spent his childhood reading some of the stories and that must have been where he saw the symbol.
“Are you alright?” Carrie asked walking up to him.
The two of them were unsure of what to do now that their Uncle Ted was not where they thought he would be. John knew they were not his problem exactly but he was still in Forlon’s Hope and they were hanging around his car but that’s because he hasn’t paid them any attention.
“I think I need to do some research,” John replied. “Research about what?” Carrie asked.
John looked at her for a minute wanting to tell her but he kept quiet instead of deciding that it might sound stupid if he mentioned it to her. He was not sure if he was grasping at straw or not but he needs to be sure that he has something before he tells anyone about the symbol he had seen.
“For now, let’s just call it simple research.”
His grandfather’s things were in the trailer where the old man had lived before he passed away ten years ago. John had barely paid any attention to it though he had it cleaned once in three months or so. He knew Sophie kept the key in her place and he ran over there got the key then headed to the trailer. He was not exactly sure what he was looking for but he has a feeling that there was something where he was thinking.
CHAPTER THREE
Going through what seemed to be a mountain of books for a symbol had been a crazy idea at first but John had found answers in crazy places and that kept him going. Carrie and Alex were not exactly sure what he was looking for but they simply stayed outside the trailer leaving John on his own. It had taken him close to five days and it was on the night of the fifth day that he finally realized what the symbol was. How James had gotten his hand on a book like this was exactly but it explained what John had seen in the hole. It was a book that detailed about things John wondered if anyone was bothered about but it had the symbol John had seen. He sat down and read the book as his mind almost went crazy from what he was reading. It took him all night but by morning, he knew that he has something of an answer as to what happened exactly. “Good morning John,” Carrie greeted him. “What were you doing inside that trailer all these while.”
The kids were not leaving and John understood but now he does not know what to do. For the first time since this whole fiasco started, he realized that Sophie and Cassandra might have gone too far. If only he can get them back but how do you get something back from someone you can’t reach.
“What do you plan to do now Carrie?” John asked her.
He had changed the subject now wanting to discuss why he had been cooped up in the trailer for days. How will he sound if he told her the result of his effort in the trailer? “Not exactly sure though,” Carrie replied. “Uncle Ted was our only living relative and without him, we have nowhere to go so we will have to hang around.”
There was no way he was going to let them hang around this place. The evil that had visited this place could come back at any time and there was no saying what could happen.
“I can’t let you stay here Carrie. Leave